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On a dreary night, when the rain and thunder became as one, throwing themselves, hurting towards the earth, the mud of the people, there was but one request, sent out from a king to his subjects:
*Hello! If you would be so kind as to visit me in my castle? There will be food, and yes, cake! And there will also be a tour to be had, and a simple, a very simple game to play.*
Five weary travelers took the invitation onto themselves, and prepared accordingly. The king was strange - forbidding anything of gems, of metal, of explosives or weapons, of sharps, of food and drink. The people, then, acted accordingly - passing by their pockets for inspection on the coming days, and, now tonight, all was prepared.
First to come was our lovely Acre. A simple man, a farmer, more intrigued by the mechanics of the world than anything. He came with nothing but his soul.
Then, was Trail. A man of no worry, a fleer, a scoundrel and a knave, but he always has his wits about him.
Third, was Blazer. A poor man, wearing his work's uniform to the preparations, and if you were to ask, "It's my best suit!", is what he would yell at you.
But then, a tricky duo. Sign and Post. Two words, one of another. Orange and green. Both of them, veterans of their craft - Sign, he was the eye on the inside, and Post, she was the eye on the outside. They whispered amongst each other, of plans, for what? It's just a simple king's request! But the rumor mill always has its way of seeping into the minds of others... Was it subterfuge? Traps? A double-agentry? It was even said that, the day before, they had each submitted notes to the King, telling him, in both frank and stylish words, that there would be rebound if a blade was pulled.
But that can't possibly be true, could it? Haha. Ha.
But, yes, that fateful night. Everyone was invited in, reminded of leaving their items behind, and then pressed forth into the castle. First was the rooms of heads - both of them (they had dutifully sacrificed one of their many lives to be displayed here), and also those of monsters and animals that surrounded them, on a grand scale. Next, was the pet chicken - seeds were supplied by a quick cutting of grass inside the estate. Then, was the bedrooms, and it was here that the king stopped in his tracks.
"I will need you all to sleep here, even if for a moment - your point of origin, should you die, must be here for the time being."
People did as asked, and then, the king moved on to the final room - the throne room. Up in the high rises, made with diamond and the palest of oak, and accompanying it, a golem, made of the various leftovers of un-curtailed copper crafting. For a moment, the king stopped his meandering speeches about his castle to address the travelers directly - "He was left here all alone. Could it have been one of your kind?"
Acre didn't say anything.
Sign and Post looked at each other. They both knew who it was.
Blazer said not a word.
and Trail? Just shook his head.
"Ah!", said Crown. "I almost forgot, the last room!", and he led everyone downstairs, to the bottom floors, for his final reveal - the dinner table. Bowls and bowls of food lined the table - hordes of rabbits, sheep, cows, pigs, trees, and the occasional lichen must have been felled for this banquet. Everyone started to partake, but then, just before anyone could get in a bite...
"Ah, forgive me. I have almost forgotten the cake! I did promise a cake. I will be right back!"
The king left, and all he could hear was a scurry in the dining room. What was that - a table for crafting, a chest opened to an interdimensional realm - no, *that* realm, the one of the exchange of forbidden items? But, when he returned, all seemed well - maybe too well, but he reassured himself there would be time for due diligence.
After the bowls were emptied and plates licked clean (Sign even managed the party trick of eating a drumstick clean off the bone!), he told them there would be a game within the halls.
"A simple game, you all already know it. You all know it well. Too well." Crown wiped something off his lip and gave a snide look on his face. "Hide and seek. I'll give you 30 seconds to hide. And for those that don't hide well enough..." Just through his robes, an iron axe glistened.
The dining hall had never been emptied quite that fast. But as everyone left, he made a prayer, and through the whims of the gods, the abilities of creation were struck from everyone's hands. All according to plan, days, weeks of preparation, and his call was answered.
The clock ticked. 30 seconds. 20. 10. 5.
Four. The halls still pattered with feet.
Three. The walls were made with a large honeycomb tiling, so nobody should be hiding there.
Two. The last steps stopped in their tracks.
One. The moon shone brightly red, and in that very moonlight, the axe glistened as if it had already gotten its fated kills. The prey had hid, and it was time for the hunters' dream to begin.
And yet, not even a moment passed before an annoying Trail would spring out and keep him busy. Busy enough, that was. Again, he could hear sounds - polishing of knives, of armor? No, no, there are more important things to do - like deal with this damned RAT!!
The axe pierced Trail's flesh, smooth, crisply, before the canary on everyone's shoulders informed everyone of the bloodshed. Trail's corpse poofed into white smoke, and he reappared, sitting defeated on his bed in the upstairs halls.
The King was manic, revering and lavishing the moment. "Gah... hah... Okay, that would be one of you guys down, Four to go."
Acre was next to go, as he had only the brilliant idea of hiding in his own dorm - which he returned to upon his own demise. He took the punishment with glee, opting instead to take a bushel of wheat and start cutting off the ends, turning them into a rice-like grain, mixing it with the tap water available in his bedroom, and enjoying the resulting broth.
But then, Crown had the brilliant idea to check his vault. Just behind the drapes, be bushed a button and looked inside the dingy room. Indeed, he noticed the combination was just one extra number than he normally would have. He deleted it with haste, and the door swung upon. Crown wore an expression of terrifying glee, teeth sharp, spiked, eyes shot with the coursing night, Inside, he found--
Well... it could have been anyone, but it was just a green blur. But he knew the green blur. The unmistakable hue of that damned Post. But how, where could she have gone? The smell of the vault was fishy - no, literally, there was a slight rank not unlike the seaweed and aquatic creatures that Post would befriend and harvest. It was the planar warp he had feared - capable of being preformed with only the line of a fishing rod.
No matter! Next was Blazer, of course, who wandered and wandered, but eventually found his head being obstructed by metal.
"Eh?", said Blazer, before looking up at Crown, who was squatting atop the dinner table.
Crown wound up for the fastball special, and it was off with Blazer's head in one clean strike.
After that was quite the drop in KOs. The King was searching up and down, all over the place, hand lining the walls, though on occasion, he would put his hand to his chin, in just the right way and just the right place, as to avoid a secret.
The canary on his shoulder had informed him that Post wouldn't be a problem - she had managed to jump right into lava! Hah! The fool she was. Why not just stay in your little cabin far off in the distance, eh? Crown took this as a victory against the wayward ghost, and continued onward, dragging the now bloodied axe across the floor, really solidifying it.
But, still, the halls seemed empty. He waited to hear a breath, a cough, anything, but then, just then, he heard a door open.
"Aha! I've got you now, scoundrel!"
But there was nothing. Another door opened, and still, nothing.
But then, just from the corner of his eye, he saw a blade. Teal-blue, glowing with spectral impossibilities. He took a swing and missed, but lo, it was just the blade. A slash, another, Crown could not keep up, and with his last ounce of breath, he cursed whoever it was for being a cheater, for ruining his blessed game.
Post leaned down to his corpse, allowing it to linger for a moment before disappearing. "Remember, Crown, King of the hill you placed your castle upon and no more, If you ever deign play games..."
The body disappeared in a puff.
"Always bet on green."
Everyone else evacuated the building, and while the King, newly respawned, kept cursing and complaining of cheaters, everyone knew for certain that they wouldn't have to deal with the tyranny again.
But even still, you have to take a gamble, right?